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Notre Dame hosts struggling Stanford

Oct 4, 2006 - 12:01 AM Stanford (0-5) at No. 12 Notre Dame (4-1), 2:30 pm EDT

SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Ticker) - The Big Ten Conference portion of the schedule is over for Notre Dame. Now the Fighting Irish start their Pac-10 slate.

No. 12 Notre Dame looks to keep Stanford winless when the rivals meet in South Bend on Saturday.

The Fighting Irish (4-1) went 3-1 in consecutive weeks against Big Ten opponents, concluding the run with last Saturday's 35-21 victory over Purdue. Brady Quinn threw a pair of touchdown passes to Rhema McKnight for the Irish, who gained 454 yards but surrendered 490.

Notre Dame has not started 5-1 since 1998 and next hosts UCLA after a bye week. It has won five consecutive meetings with Stanford in South Bend and four straight overall in the series, but last year's victory in Palo Alto did not come easily.

The Irish trailed, 31-30, after a four-yard TD pass from Cardinal backup T.C. Ostrander to Matt Traverso with 1:46 to play. Quinn marched Notre Dame quickly downfield, setting up Darius Walker's go-ahead six-yard score with 55 seconds left.

Notre Dame should have a much easier time of it this year, as Stanford (0-5) has played terribly in its second season under Walt Harris.

The injury-ravaged Cardinal are coming off a 31-0 drubbing at UCLA in which they gained just 166 yards without starting receivers Evan Moore and Mark Bradford and starting backfield of Anthony Kimble and Nick Frank.

Bradford opened the season with nine receptions for 108 yards at Oregon but tore ligaments in his foot vs. San Jose State the following week and may miss the rest of the season.

Stanford is off to its worst start since dropping its first six contests in 1983, when it finished 1-10.